Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Eastman Kodak Co. may hold patents worth five times more than the business itself, making the 131- year-old camera company a target in the billion-dollar hunt for inventions used in mobile phones.

Kodak, which once had a market value of more than $30 billion, has plunged 98 percent since its peak in the 1990s as demand for film photography withered and smartphones equipped to take pictures siphoned off demand for its digital cameras. The Rochester, New York-based company has reported losses in five of the past six years and has less than $600 million in equity value, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.